


someone who's there

by VenatorNoctis



Series: Scourge Eater [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Banter, Consensual but a Bad Idea, Creepy Foreshadowing, Hints of Compulsion, M/M, Missing Scene, Rough Sex, chapter 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-31 22:59:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13985130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenatorNoctis/pseuds/VenatorNoctis
Summary: Noctis has some time to kill and some questions to ask on board Ardyn's ship. Ardyn helps with one of those problems."Good to see you up and about," Ardyn says. "I did worry that your little excursion might have proved taxing.""Didn't think you were the worrying type," Noctis retorts.Ardyn laughs. It's irritating as hell and somehow makes Noctis shiver at the same time, like fingernails ghosting up the back of his neck. "You wound me, your highness." He takes a swaggering step closer. "When have I ever offered you anything but aid?"





	someone who's there

**Author's Note:**

> I started this before the 1.23 patch dropped and gave us a glimpse at the boys' time on Ardyn's ship. I tweaked a little after I saw the new scene, but please forgive any remaining inconsistencies. We're here for the porn, right?
> 
> My thanks to Arianne for the sounding board, the beta, and contributing a good deal of Ardyn's dialogue.

The engines of the Imperial ship purr, barely working hard enough to feel through the floor. Noctis still has the shakes and he can still smell smoke, even though the air in the cabin they've been given is cool and clean. They're all shaken up, though. Gladio's fighting the adrenaline crash after hauling Noctis all the way out of the burning cauldron of the Disc and saving his life at least half a dozen times. Prompto is fighting to convince Gladio to chill out and rest for a few minutes while they have the chance. Ignis is pacing, with that little frowning crease between his eyes that he gets when he's trying to figure out something tricky and doesn't like it.

They're not captives, is the thing. Ardyn—Chancellor Izunia—Ardyn-that-bastard—could easily have taken them captive: exhausted, outnumbered, and outgunned, they'd have fought but it would have gone badly for them. But instead he showed them to this cabin, one of the ones the ship's human crew use, and left them to their own devices after some of his usual cryptic bullshit. There aren't even guards at the door.

Noctis gets up off his bunk. "I want to go look around. See if I can find out what our _gracious host_ is up to."

He's expecting at least one of them to insist on going with him, but Ignis just stops pacing and gives him a long, thoughtful look. "Keep your guard up. He wouldn't give me any straight answers but he clearly wants something from you. Perhaps he'll tip his hand if you approach him alone. Just be careful. Keep in mind how you could safely retreat from the situation if the need arises."

"I'll be careful," Noctis promises. That's more independence than Ignis usually wants to give him, but the things that have happened since they left the Crown City have been a lot to live through and maybe he can tell how much Noctis has had to grow up.

Ignis nods. "Then good luck."

Noctis dredges up a smile and tries to get the confidence back in his stance. "As if I need it," he says, and it does look like that makes Ignis relax a little. "I'll be back in a little while."

The door hisses open and closed for him and he looks down the hall. Everything is sleek and polished and sterile, unsettling in its inhuman cleanness. It seems so at odds with Ardyn's traveling vagabond "man of no consequence" persona, it puts Noct's hackles up. He turns toward the bow of the airship and starts down the corridor. 

The first soldiers he runs into are MTs, creepy empty armor on patrol. They don't acknowledge him, which reinforces the impression that he's really not a prisoner here. What the hell is Ardyn up to?

He runs into an actual person on duty outside what he assumes is the bridge. "Excuse me," he says. "Where is—um, the chancellor?"

The soldier gives him a slight bow. "He said you'd find him in the upper observation deck, your highness." She points down the corridor to her right. "There's a lift at the end of this corridor. Take it to the upper level and the observation deck will be the first door on your left."

This is entirely too easy. "He told you to tell me that?"

"Yes, your highness," the soldier says. "The chancellor is expecting you."

"Well, I guess I wouldn't want to keep him waiting," Noctis says, even though that's not what he means at all. "Thanks."

The soldier bows again and Noctis turns to go. He's still waiting for the sucker punch that seems like it has to be coming. He gets in the lift and punches the button.

Maybe he's not being fair. The chancellor... _Ardyn_ has been weird and obnoxious and sometimes a little creepy but he's also been really helpful. He helped them get to the Disc, when that _was_ what Noctis needed. And then he helped them get back out again when it looked really bad—first with his soldiers joining the fight to hold Titan at bay, and then with the airlift out when things really went to shit.

He's also a kind of creepy weirdo who's still unfairly handsome and only flirts with people until they act like they're interested, and he's involved with the empire even if he seems to be double-crossing them by treating Noctis this well, and... It's complicated. That's about as much sense as Noctis has managed to make of it by the time he makes it off the lift and down the hall to the observation deck.

The observation deck is the first place he's seen on the ship that doesn't feel oppressively military and stark. Instead there are tapestries hung along walls and comfortable-looking sofas arranged facing the forward wall, which is one huge window looking out over the scenery below. The lights are low in the room but it's still hard to see much out the window—the sun's gone down already, and only occasional spots of outpost light dot the Duscae landscape.

Ardyn gets up off one of the couches and turns to face him. "Good evening, your highness. Please, come in."

Noctis walks forward, looking out the window instead of facing Ardyn straight on. There are smaller flickers of light between the outposts, odd purples and flares of orange, and he realizes queasily that he's seeing daemons manifest. "Evening."

"Good to see you up and about," Ardyn says. "I did worry that your little excursion might have proved taxing."

"Didn't think you were the worrying type," Noctis retorts.

Ardyn laughs. It's irritating as hell and somehow makes Noctis shiver at the same time, like fingernails ghosting up the back of his neck. "You wound me, your highness." He takes a swaggering step closer. "When have I ever offered you anything but aid?"

"Fair," Noctis admits, turning to actually face Ardyn. The low light in the room throws his face half into shadow, and it's a striking image. Melancholy. It'd make a good photo. "Sorry, I didn't come up here to give you crap."

"What a relief," Ardyn says. He's such an asshole. "And what _did_ you come here to give me?"

Noctis steps closer to him. The flashy clothes and expansive gestures are a distraction most of the time but Ardyn is a big guy, almost Gladio's height, and Noctis is looking up to meet his eyes. "I wanted to... thank you for all that help."

"Goodness." Ardyn looks him up and down, lips curving into a tiny smirk. "I'm flattered by your persistence, but I still don't think you'd enjoy it if I took you up on that."

Noctis' fists clench at his side and his spine stiffens. "That's _not_ what I meant!" Maybe it was what he meant the first time, before the drive to the Disc—it would have been a bad idea but a _hot_ bad idea and weirdly hard to resist. But after he got turned down once, he wouldn't ask again. Despite the fact that there's something compelling about Ardyn even when he's at his most obnoxious.

Like right now: "Oh, do forgive the misunderstanding," he says, leaning in close enough that Noctis can smell the spice of his cologne. "You just sound so much like you're asking for it."

"Says the man who's been following me around pulling dramatic stunts to get my attention," Noctis fires back without letting himself retreat.

Ardyn steps back, laughing, as if he's honestly delighted by that response. "Can you blame an old man for wanting your attention if he can get it?"

Noctis ignores the "old man" bait. "If he then goes out of his way to turn me down, yeah."

"My apologies!" Ardyn puts a hand over his heart, absurdly dramatic. "I never meant to hurt any feelings."

 _My feelings aren't hurt_ , Noctis almost says, but that's the wrong tack to take. He closes the distance between them again. "What, just not sure what to do with my attention once you had it?"

Ardyn licks his lips, and his voice drops to a threatening purr. "I'm not sure a boy like you could _handle_ what I'd do with it."

Heat flashes through Noctis' nerves and only a little of it is anger. "Oh, you're _on_." He knows he's being goaded and he should care but he doesn't, stepping into Ardyn's personal space and grabbing him by the front of his jacket.

"Mmm, should I be more worried about what _you'll_ do to _me_?" Ardyn asks. He sounds like he's teasing, but—

But if he's not, Noctis will feel terrible. "Do you seriously not want me to?"

Ardyn smiles, resting one hand against Noctis' waist. "Do your worst."

"Really?" The urge to keep arguing is almost as hard to resist as the urge to push for more. "Would you really rather have that than my best?" Before either of them can keep talking, he reaches up to curl a hand around Ardyn's nape and pull him down for a kiss.

For all the coy b.s. leading up to it, Ardyn kisses like he really wants to be here. His hand tightens against Noctis' side and his lips part as he leans in, hot and forceful. Stubble rasps against Noctis' chin as he pushes into the kiss harder, chasing the teasing flicker of Ardyn's tongue. For a second he can taste something deeply strange, something inky-purple and sweet-rotten, but it's gone again before he can react. He bites at Ardyn's lip and Ardyn _growls_.

But then instead of pushing for more Ardyn pulls back. "Careful, little prince," he says. "Play too roughly and you'll wind up with marks you need to explain to your dear friends."

The only thing preventing Noctis from saying _stop being difficult_ is the certainty that it would just make Ardyn worse. "Then I'll use a potion."

Ardyn laughs. "So that's how you like it, then?"

"I like it a lot of ways." He looks up into Ardyn's eyes, making it a challenge. "Is that what you've got to offer? Giving it to me rough?"

But Ardyn's expression softens into something almost kind. "Look at you," he murmurs. He lifts one hand to trace the line of Noctis' cheekbone, ever so gentle. "Won't it feel rough no matter what I do?"

Noctis shakes his head. "Not sure if you're bragging or underestimating me." He turns his head to catch Ardyn's bare fingertips between his lips.

"Neither." Ardyn pets his tongue, softly, with fingertips that taste like steel. "Merely pointing out I'm a lot bigger than you are."

 _And full of yourself_ , Noctis thinks. He sucks on Ardyn's fingertips for a minute, teasing with his tongue, before letting him go to be able to answer. "That doesn't mean i'm delicate."

"As I'm learning." He sounds so honestly pleased by the discovery that it's hard to stay annoyed.

"So how do _you_ like it?" Noctis asks. "You know, when you're not worried about your manly prowess being too rough for a guy to handle."

"My 'manly prowess'?" Ardyn echoes, eyebrows raised. "You flatter me, your highness!"

Noctis rolls his eyes. "But not enough to get you to answer questions."

Again, sassing him back turns out to have been the right call. Ardyn smiles, brushing Noctis' hair back out of his face. "Don't worry about what I like. Your company is all I need."

"Now who's the flatterer?" Noctis leans in against Ardyn's body, stretching up in search of another kiss.

"Well, if it earns me this mouth." Finally, Ardyn gives in, kissing him hard and wrapping an arm around his waist. Noctis hums, sucking on his tongue and sliding both arms around him to hold him close. His nerves sing as Ardyn bites at his lips—it's like he imagines being drunk must feel, making him dizzy and energized, making his skin feel hot and sensitive all over. One of Ardyn's hands slips up under the back of his shirt, skimming up along his spine, and then blunt nails rake down his back, hard, tracks of bright hot pain across his skin. Noctis arches his back and pushes _toward_ the touch instead of away, making an embarrassingly high-pitched noise.

Ardyn pulls back again, but this time it doesn't look like he's going to start more shit: his pupils are blown, he's breathing hard, and there's no sign of a smirk anywhere. "You are a wonder, your highness," he says, and he sounds unnervingly like he means it.

"Yeah," Noctis says. He can't help himself. "I'm pretty great."

Ardyn snorts, his lips twisting in amusement. "Of course." He takes a step, turning Noctis with him as if they're dancing, then grabs Noctis around the throat and shoves him back against the wall. Noctis has barely time to flinch, much less defend himself, before Ardyn is kissing him again and nothing else matters. He _could_ defend himself. He could pull the Blade of the Mystic from the armiger any time. But then this would stop, and he couldn't stand that.

Besides, it's not like Ardyn is hurting him. The pressure against his throat is just enough to be a little scary, but not enough to cut off his air or anything. They're both kissing like they're starving for it, messy and wet and perfect. Noctis pushes one hand down between them, groping at the front of Ardyn's pants. He gets hold of Ardyn's cock and squeezes, and Ardyn _snarls_ into his mouth, squeezing his throat until he's seeing spots and gasping for breath.

"Look at you," Ardyn croons. Some trick of the light makes it looks like his eyes are glowing. "Fearless little prince."

Noctis squeezes harder, watching the hunger in Ardyn's face melt into almost confused desperation. "You wouldn't be planning to—go back on that offer of safe passage—would you?"

Ardyn's grip goes slack and Noctis takes a deep breath. "You _do_ like to play with fire, don't you?"

He could make a stupid joke about liking it hot but he doesn't. That would be fine with Ignis or Prompto—hell, even Gladio likes it when he's a brat sometimes. But this is something different. "Thought that was obvious from me being here at all." He should be thinking about that escape route Ignis wanted him to be sure to have. He should be getting out of here. He's working his hand against Ardyn's stiffening cock and he's not afraid, he's hungry.

"Forgive this old man," Ardyn says, gentle again. "I'm not used to anyone being able to surprise me anymore." His hand slides around from Noctis' throat to his nape, pulling him into another kiss, and with the other he tugs at the top button of Noctis' fatigues. Noctis' own cock twitches, and he makes an undignified groan into the heat of Ardyn's mouth.

How far can they take this, anyway? It's going to wreck him if they can't do _something_ about the thrumming blue-white need pulsing through his nerves right now. But he's not prepared, and who knows how much privacy they actually have here? Slowly but surely Ardyn is working his buttons open one-handed, and the friction as his fingers work each one open is making Noctis a little crazy. When Ardyn can actually reach _into_ his pants, gloved hand shoved inside his briefs to curl around the shaft of his cock, he whines.

Ardyn pulls back just slightly from the kiss. "Get these off before I destroy them, darling."

Well, there's one question answered. Noctis pushes and Ardyn takes half a step back, giving him just enough room to move. He shoves his fatigues and his briefs down, and trying to get them off over his boots is awkward but stopping to take them off would take longer and feels somehow less safe. ( _If you were worried about safety_ , says his inner Ignis voice, and he stops listening to it.)

When he straightens back up again Ardyn has opened his pants and is idly stroking his cock, watching him. It looks as big as it felt, and probably that should make Noctis want to take it slow, be careful, but his heart's pounding and his cock aches and careful is the last thing he wants to be. He licks his lips. "How are we doing this?"

Ardyn tosses him a bottle. "You'll want some of that, I suspect."

Noctis pops the cap off the bottle and it smells faintly herbal like a potion, but when he tips it into his hand the stuff inside is thick and slippery instead of liquid. "Just going to watch?" he asks as he reaches back behind himself. "I hope you're planning to do _some_ of the work here."

"I've no intention of leaving you to your own devices," Ardyn promises.

"Yeah?" Noctis pushes, two fingers, and Ardyn's potion lube is good stuff, makes it an easy glide. "You gonna—"

Ardyn steps closer, wraps both hands around the backs of Noctis' thighs, and lifts him like he weighs nothing. His back hits the wall and his legs wrap around Ardyn's waist reflexively, and Ardyn kisses him like it's an attempt to steal the breath from his lungs. About the only thing wrong right now is that there's no way Noctis can get his fingers in deep, but that's not going to be a problem for long. He squirms, not really struggling, and Ardyn leans into him, pinning him harder against the wall. This close he can tell that Ardyn's bulk isn't all from the ridiculous pile of clothes he's wearing—there's solid strength under there, and it's maddening that he's down to his t-shirt when Ardyn's still dressed.

One more teasing bite to his lower lip and Ardyn pulls back. "Still impatient?"

"You know it," Noctis says breathlessly.

"Get me slick, then." It's funny how Ardyn is all _please, your highness_ and _apologies, your highness_ until he actually wants something and then all that politeness goes out the window. Noctis pulls his fingers out and slicks Ardyn's cock, fast and sloppy, dropping the bottle on the floor.

Ardyn lifts him higher and Noctis guides his cock, gets him lined up, and then all Ardyn has to do is let gravity take over. His cock presses steadily into Noctis' ass, hot and thick enough that the stretch burns. They should have gone slower. They couldn't have gone slower. It's perfect. This isn't even a particularly good angle for getting in deep and already it feels like he's completely stuffed.

"Oh, lovely," Ardyn breathes, hot against Noctis' ear. "Dear boy, what are you doing to me?"

"I'm pretty sure it's you doing it to me," Noctis says. He's stretched so wide, filled so much, it feels like his whole body is throbbing around the intrusion. His cock is painfully hard, drooling on his stomach, and he can't explain why this is so _good_ , just that it's wrecking him. "Come on, move."

Ardyn laughs softly and the sound ripples over Noctis' skin. "As you command, your highness."

"Don't," Noctis starts to tell him, going for _don't call me that when we're fucking_ , but Ardyn rocks his hips and it's like he just detonated a lightning flask at the base of Noctis' spine. Fuck it, Ardyn can call him whatever he wants if it feels like that. Ardyn pulls back and thrusts up into him again and Noctis moans, grabbing for his own cock as the heat twists through him.

"Look at you, desperate for it," Ardyn says as Noctis starts to jerk himself off. "I had no idea you were such a flatterer."

"Whereas I already knew how much, fuck," Noctis shudders as Ardyn drives into him harder, "how much you like the sound of your own voice."

Ardyn's hands tighten on his thighs but not enough to make him sorry, and the scrape of stubble against his throat is excruciatingly good. "I've gotten so used to entertaining myself over the years, and now you turn out to be such a _delight_ —"

He's still talking but Noctis can't make out the words over the roaring in his ears, the tightness in this belly, the heat pulling tight in his balls and he's coming, clenching down around the fat cock filling him up. For one gasping breath he can smell the same inky rot he thought he tasted earlier, but it's gone in the next moment, as he's still shuddering on Ardyn's cock and spilling onto his own stomach.

"A flatterer indeed," Ardyn murmurs, still driving in hard. "To think that my humble efforts could produce such a passionate response, and so quickly."

"Ugh, shut _up_ ," Noctis says, reaching up without thinking to try to cover Ardyn's mouth. And it works, sort of, because Ardyn catches Noctis' fingers between his lips and sucks on them, cleaning the come from his skin. "Fuck," Noctis whispers, " _fuck_."

Ardyn's mouth curls into a way-too-pleased smile around Noctis' fingers and his hips snap up. It hurts, too much too soon after Noctis has come, but even while he's squirming to get away from it that tender ache is so _good_ , overloading his senses and making him shake. He chews on his own lips, trying to keep quiet, writhing against the wall as Ardyn fucks him right through that oversensitive period without even slowing down to let him catch his breath. The corners of his eyes are wet. He pulls his fingers out of Ardyn's mouth and grabs him by the hair, hauling him in close to press Ardyn's mouth against his throat again. 

"So demanding, your highness," Ardyn says, but then he follows that up by biting down hard enough that Noctis shudders all over. He thrusts at a hard, steady pace, like he could do this all night, and Noctis' thighs shake as he holds on tight and gets done. Even when it's too much he doesn't want it to stop, like Ardyn's careless selfishness is what he's here for.

After a couple of minutes his body starts to catch up, the slick slide of flesh and the heavy fullness turning back into pleasure instead of excess. He never entirely went soft but he's getting hard again now, clinging to Ardyn's shoulders and trying to rock into each thrust as it comes.

And then Ardyn pulls out. "No," Noctis says, trying to pull him close again. "No, we're not done, come on."

"Indeed not." Ardyn pulls free of his grip almost embarrassingly easily and drags Noctis away from the wall, shoving him so he stumbles toward the nearest sofa. Almost instantly—almost as if he could warp—he's behind Noctis with a hand on his nape, pushing him down over the arm of the sofa. "But I think we both know the value of having decent leverage, don't we?"

He pushes back into Noctis' ass, smooth and hot and _deep_ , the angle so much better for really filling him up, and Noctis rocks back to meet him. The whine rises up in Noctis' throat immediately and he tries to choke it down before he can stroke Ardyn's ego any more than he has to, but it's so much, the thick heat of Ardyn's cock buried in him balls-deep. The first real stroke drags over his prostate and he claws desperately at the sofa as if there's anywhere for him to get purchase and hang on. Ardyn, damn him, knows exactly what he just did and does it again, making Noctis gasp and whimper.

"Something the matter, your highness? Need a little assistance keeping your voice down?" His cock keeps moving, driving in repeatedly at that maddeningly good angle.

"Don't believe you're an expert in that," Noctis bites out. He does need to stay quiet. For anyone outside to overhear, to know that Lucis' heir was letting the imperial chancellor fuck him—

Ardyn laughs. "I don't think you give me enough credit," he says. "After all I've done to help you." He slows down for a moment, rhythm faltering like he's distracted, then leans forward over Noctis' back in a way that makes the pressure of his cock somehow even better. "Open wide, now."

Noctis is doing it before he thinks better of it, and maybe he means to ask what Ardyn wants but maybe he's just responding, doing what he's told because his body is on fire, need almost as sharp as magic crackling through his nerves. Ardyn pushes something into his mouth. He tastes leather and realizes it's one of Ardyn's gloves, crammed in his mouth to muffle the sounds he makes and held there by Ardyn's broad hand across his face. His cock throbs and he groans into the leather, knowing he should be furious and too brutally turned on to manage it.

"Hush, darling," Ardyn says, his breath against the back of Noctis' neck. "This is what you came looking for."

Noctis can't argue, doesn't think he could even if he weren't gagged. He rocks back into Ardyn's thrusts, snaking a hand down to take hold of his cock again. Ardyn fills his senses, the weight on his back and the thick heat in his ass and the smell of spices and sweat, the tang of leather, the soft and almost angry sounds he makes against Noctis' nape as he moves. Noctis trembles under him, tension rising, balls drawing tight. Every stroke makes it better, drags him closer—

And Noctis comes a second time pinned under Ardyn's weight, shaking, writhing as his body tries and fails to clench down around the girth Ardyn's cock, sobbing desperate relief into the glove that gags him.

"Oh," Ardyn breathes, "damn you, _damn_ you," driving in hard enough that it feels like his hipbones will leave bruises. The room turns purply-dark and the scent of sweetness and rot is everywhere, cloying and sticky in Noctis' throat. He coughs, struggling—and the light comes back, the overpowering smell gone as if it never existed. Ardyn has gone still on top of him, inside him.

Noctis squirms, reaching up to pry Ardyn's hand away from his mouth so he can spit out the glove. "Kept up pretty well after all, huh."

"Brat," Ardyn says. He sounds pleased. For a few seconds the quiet is almost comfortable. But then he shudders and pulls out abruptly, pushing himself away from Noctis like something's offended him.

Noctis straightens up gingerly, wincing at how sore he is. "What was that about? Something bite you just now?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the faintest idea what you mean," Ardyn says. His tone is as smug and obnoxious as ever but he's all the way on the other side of the room, buttoning up his pants in a hurry.

"Yeah no, you're being weird even for you," Noctis says.

Ardyn pulls on an almost convincing smirk. "I do apologize if I've given you the wrong impression, but my duties on board this ship extend beyond the entertainment of my guests."

"Awfully convenient that you remember that right this second."

"Funny how these things work out, isn't it?" Ardyn says, hand on the door. "It won't be safe to release your merry little crew until after sunrise, so I do hope you can keep yourselves entertained until then."

"Wait," Noctis says, but Ardyn doesn't, leaving him alone on the observation deck half-dressed and entirely off-balance.

Well, that was fun until it suddenly wasn't. What the hell is that guy's problem? He did his best to cover it up with being obnoxious again but that looked a lot like fleeing.

Noctis retrieves a potion out of the armiger and doses himself, feeling the aches and scrapes Ardyn left behind melt away. He's still a mess, but it's not like he can wander around the ship with no pants on looking for a bathroom. He wipes up as best he can with a napkin he finds in one of his pockets, which is less than ideal but a lot better than nothing. At least it means he can get dressed again.

He squirms back into the rest of his clothes and takes a few deep breaths. The landscape out the window is still dark; there's a pool of white light in the distance but he has no idea what outpost it is. He wonders if it's someplace they've been before. It'll be good to get back down on the ground after all this.

On the walk back to their cabin he's still trying to figure out what the fuck that ending was supposed to be. It didn't have to be so bullshit. Even if Ardyn also went "whoops, this was a bad idea" after he got off—not likely, he seems like the kind of guy who's never sorry about his bad ideas—it didn't have to be weird like this. What a dick.

Was he freaked out by that moment where everything went dark? That... would almost be a relief, honestly, because it would mean that wasn't something Ardyn _did_. But of course instead of staying to clear anything up he just took off, because he's impossible. Noctis takes a deep breath, trying not to let himself get too irritated. He'll figure that out or it won't come up again and either way it's fine.

The door to the cabin hisses open and as Noctis steps inside Ignis is already getting up to meet him. "Noct. Welcome back."

"Thanks," Noctis says. "Ardyn's a creep."

"Dude, we could have told you that," Prompto says from where he's sitting at Gladio's side. "He didn't give you anything, huh?"

"Nothing useful." Noctis glances at Ignis. "Sorry I couldn't bring back anything for you to work with."

Looking at Ignis was a mistake, because Ignis can read him too well, and there's this tiny shift in his expression like he knows exactly what happened up there. "You came back safe, and that's the most important thing."

"Yeah," Noctis allows. "I'm fine."

Ignis still has that pained expression. "Please be careful, your highness," he says quietly.

That _your highness_ stings, means Ignis isn't pleased with him and doesn't think it's his place to say so. "I know," Noctis says. "I didn't tell him anything and he didn't hurt me." That's all true, even if it's an incomplete truth that leaves him feeling almost as bad as lying. They'll have to talk more later. "He said they'll set us down someplace safe once the sun's coming up."

Ignis nods. "Then we should rest while we can."

"Right," Noctis agrees. He follows Ignis over to sit down with the others, and when he leans against Ignis' side, Ignis lets him. They'll get off this stupid ship in the morning, and they'll go track down the Regalia again, and they'll get back on track. 

And he'll leave this whole weird episode behind.


End file.
